The Less Successful Sibling XV - The Lesser Loved Brothers Of Rugby

We've tried to form an XV, and here it is:

15. Dave Kearney (brother of Rob): Injury problems have prevented Dave, who has won 17 caps, becoming a regular for his country in the same way that his older 95-cap brother Rob has.

14. Graham Hogg (brother of Stuart): He played for Scotland in the IRB Sevens World Series as well as representing his country at under-18, under-19 and under-20. A very talented player, his career did not take off in the same way as his younger brother due to a number of serious knee injuries.

11. Tony Underwood (brother of Rory): He played alongside his brother, Rory, in the England Grand Slam winning side in 1995. He and Rory played together at Leicester and both were gifted with pace as they played on opposite flanks terrorising opposition defences. It was Rory nevertheless who went onto break records, scoring 50 tries in 91 Tests.

13. Archie Russell (brother of Finn): Finn’s younger brother Archie may not play professionally but turned out for Cambridge University in the varsity match against Oxford in 2017, scoring a try in a 20-10 victory. They also played together for Ayr.

12. Mark Wilkinson (brother of Jonny): He spent his three-year professional career between 2002 and 2005 at Newcastle Falcons, alongside his brother, Jonny, predominantly playing as a Centre.

10. Joe Ford (brother of George): A terrific playmaker throughout his career, but it was always tough for him to escape the shadow of his England regular younger brother. He now coaches Championship side Doncaster Knights.

9. Calum Watson (brother of Anthony): The scrum-half was plighted by injuries towards the end of his time with London Irish and subsequently was not offered a new contract at the club; joining Loughborough Students next before moving onto Chinnor RFC. Very much in the shadow of brothers Anthony and Marcus at the moment.

1. Simon Best (brother of Rory): represented and captained Ulster, Ireland ‘A’ and Ireland in a career that also saw him capped by Ireland at Schools, Under-19, Under-21 and Under-23 levels.

However, he only won 23 Test caps, which is dwarfed by his younger brother Rory, who played for the Lions, won 124 Ireland caps, and also led the men in green to a famous win against New Zealand in Chicago.

2. Tom Cowan-Dickie (brother of Luke): A product of the Penzance & Newlyn RFC’s youth section, Tom initially developed his rugby through the club and at Mounts Bay School, as did his younger brother Luke.

The 29-year-old, who also plays hooker, first joined the Cornish Pirates in 2010, and signed a new two-year deal in May 2020.

3. Jeremy Itoje (brother of Maro): Despite being a talented forward playing for semi-professional outfit Loughborough Students.

4. Jerry Sexton (brother of Johnny): He represented Leinster Rugby at schoolboy level but did not make the professional academy. The lock then moved to France to play lower level rugby before joining Exeter Chiefs.

Following further stints with London Irish and Jersey Reds, Sexton joined South African Pro14 side Southern Kings on a three-year contract before recently signing with Doncaster. Not a bad a player at all.

5. Stanley Meads (brother of Colin): His brother Colin is considered by some as one of the greatest rugby players of all time. Stanley played as a lock, No 8 and flanker, and scored four tries for New Zealand in 30 games.

Meanwhile, Colin won 55 caps between 1957 and 1971 and was named the country’s Player of the Century at the NZRFU Awards in 1999.

6. James Davies (brother of Jonathan): Despite both being wonderful players, Jonathan has had the opportunity to star on the world stage with the British & Irish Lions and Wales while James has been given limited opportunities on the international stage.

7. Ben Warburton (brother of Sam): Lions legend Sam, who captained the tourists in 2013 and 2017, has an older twin brother, Ben, who played at semi-professional level with Glamorgan Wanderers RFC and is now a physiotherapist for the Cardiff Blues.

8. Will Johnson (brother of Martin): He is perhaps best known for being Martin’s younger brother, but yet played over 200 times for Leicester and gained a number of caps for England ‘A’.

A good club man, known for technique and work rate.